Wobbles' Story Collection
by TheMrWOBBLeS
Summary: I love writing one-offs, so for easier reading I'll post them all under this "story". M rating for unexpected things that I forget about or whatever.
1. Rei of Hope

Mandatory Foreword-

When I write a story about "you", this is a "you" that you must to an extent, imagine. The actions of "you" may be unlike a path you would choose in reality, but then again, this is the "you" from another dimension. If anything, they're a conjured perfect "you" that would bond best with the character in question. Other than that, enjoy!

Rei of Hope

Unlike a usual night, your girlfriend goes straight to bed. Today was her first day at a new job and you have an idea ( if unpleasant) of what she's currently going through. Her pale blue hair swirls behind her as she runs through the house, deep blue eyes flooded with sorrow. You figure the best course of action may just be to try and confront her tomorrow morning.

You wake up Rei with a steaming breakfast. The dimly lit room is only illuminated by minute streams of light through the curtains. As the plate clanks down unto her dresser, you hear groans as her face peeks out of the covers. As is, Rei is already holding back tears as she gazes into your eyes.

"Good Morning Sweetie" You say, trying your best to give some chipper energy to the drained girl.

It seems to have the opposite of the intended effect, driving Rei back under the covers of her bed.

"Come on sweetie, talk to me. It couldn-"

"It was that baaaaaad~~~" Rei wails.

Rei sobs, poking her face out of the covers again, trying to breathe in between fits of crying. Through all the racket and struggle that Rei is putting up, you get ahold of her hand, intertwining your fingers.

"We all have bad days Rei, just tell me and we'll go from there.

Rei wipes away thick tears and blows her runny nose before starting.

"I- I couldn't do anything right… even normal orders, it just felt like all the commands together was just so overwhelming that I couldn't do anything to keep up and trying harder only made things worse!"

"Now Now, I-"

"I'm not even cut out to be a fast food cooooook~" Rei manages out while starting to cry again.

There's not much left for you to do but use your secret weapon. You lift Rei's pajama-d upper body out of the covers, wrapping her with your arms. Rei's thin arms and chest are pinned together, but she can't keep sobbing while with you.

"Rei, I made you breakfast, eat. You need the energy." You set the plate in her lap after you part from your titanic hug.

Rei picks at the food like a bird, eating little bits here and there with a nibble of toast. Her shoulders slump and she stops eating.

"W-what am I s-supposed to do? Y-You can't take care of me forever…"

Rei reaches to her dresser, picking a pair of delicate blue framed glasses up with a click. As Rei slips the familiar glasses unto her face, you have a beautiful dawning idea.

"Rei, what if you did something where you could think about what you did before you did it? What if it was a job where being quick didn't really matter?"

Rei sighs.

"I-I guess that sounds better."

"Well why don't you become a librarian? Even if it was just for a school or something, I mean, you're great with kids even if you act like you aren't."

Rei's face is fraught with confusion, terror and pain.

"I-I don't thi-think I c-could…"

You grip Rei by her arms and pull her into a kiss. Rei's cheeks burn with a thick blush as you retreat. With resolve and your future with your beloved in mind, you continue.

"I think you can. I believe in you. I want to see you happy, not crying in your bed because of McDomalts."

It took many long nights of studying and even more of your appreciation and motivation to get Rei into her new position. Neither of you could afford a new outfit for her to wear so you took a trip to a thrift shop. As Rei emerged from the changing room, you knew that you had won the game of life.

The sweater had a worn warmth to its very essence, the beige color was outdated but the V-neck style was not. A white blouse and blue tie were partially visible through the moderate layer of wool. Rei expectantly looked at you for feedback, but you were a bit busy taking in "the view".

Rei's legs were clad in black nylon with black slip-on shoes and a jet black skirt that went to her knees. Her pale blue hair was held back in a weak bun by a pair of mother-of-pearl chopsticks. You couldn't think of an answer, you just snatched her up in a hug and spun her around while grinning like an idiot.

"You're gonna destroy that interviewer, I love you sweetie~"

Rei shrinks in your arms.

"I-I hope so…"

Rei emerges gleaming, a bounce in her step and smile on her face. Her shoes are obnoxiously loud as she nearly skips across the pavement to you.

"I-I GOT IT!"

You link elbows with Rei, leaning into her head with yours.

"See? I told you. Let's walk home together."

"Of course~" Rei's smile is like the sun as she walks, still attached to your arm.

You feel obliged to show up on the last day of Rei's first complete week as a librarian. While you expected something wonderful, what you got was above and beyond that. As you pushed the double doors open to the smell of books, you heard the sweet voice of your beloved narrate "The Hobbit". As you got closer to her voice, you saw a great ring of adults, seemingly parents also listening.

Rei's voice could dance among the syllables of the beloved book, and for a moment you forgot that this was the same girl who had cried over a day of working at a fast food joint just a year and some change ago. Soon enough, the book snapped closed and Rei stood, to sudden applause. Rei was so shocked that she just froze in place, you strode through the crowd, gaining her attention immediately.

After trapping Rei in a hug, you whisper into her ear.

"You were wonderful."

The crowd has dissipated, but just by the expression on her face, your sudden arrival meant the world to your sweet little lady.


	2. Love Crimes

Lovecrimes

Shoes echo down a corridor, the harsh fluorescent lighting seeming to be dozens of little neutron stars rather than humble bulbs and tubes. Your head aches, but you press onwards; after all, what's a little sleep deprivation to the Manager of the most popular Idol in the world? As you round a corner, distant chanting, cheering and the pure cacophony of a live concert find their way to your ears. You slide through a cleverly disguised exit after donning some ear plugs.

You stand in a fenced area around a monstrously large speaker, protecting your expensive hardware from damage by the surging crowds. It also puts you in eyesight of your talent, or should you say; her's. The instant you peeked out you could feel her eyes on you; her lovely- dark magenta eyes burning a hole in you for a heartbeat before her focus went back to the crowd. You sneak your way around the side of the stage, carefully inspecting the equipment as you go. When you get behind the scenes, an assistant appears with a clipboard.

"Anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nope."

The assistant jots something down on his checklist as the crowd goes into an uproar once the Idol starts to sing one of her most popular singles. Idol, it seems cruel to call her that, her name is 5pb and…

She is cripplingly in love with you.

From the wings, you can see her carefully choreographed motions, her poses and emotion that went into every song the moment she wanted to write them. Sweat trails from her bangs that are cut straight, but at an angle. 5pb wears black leather boots with a multitude of straps that tap along with the frets of her bright blue electric guitar,Her black embellished sports bra exposes her arms and midriff to the world, letting her slender yet finely endowed hips do the talking for her. The matching skirt that 5pb wears sways in the moment as she carries out a fine moment of solo voice performance, her very heart nearly piping through the speakers as she hits high notes. As soon as it started, 5pb's song is over. The crowd's bellicose roar somehow intensifies and a sweaty, tired 5pb picks up the microphone and throws a "V" finger sign into the air.

"EVERYONE~! IT WAS WONDERFUL BEING HERE TONIGHT~!"

The crushing pressure of sound from the audience makes 5pb stop talking for a moment.

"SO I WANNA THANK YOU AND MY FRIENDS BEHIND STAGE WITH A SONG I'VE NEVER PERFORMED BEFORE OR RECORDED!"

Oh shit. What is she doing?

Contrary to the rock song that she just belted out, the song starts with her voice and a quiet guitar. The crowd shut their mouth all at once, like some greater power had slapped all of them and told them to "Shut up". You can't even remember the song she sang that day but it was not a short song; the venue providers started to harass you halfway through to get her off stage. You couldn't hear them over 5pb.

Each note, each string. She based all of this off what you said you had liked and turned it into art. Every minute action sings the praises of the person in the song that she loves, adores and wishes to cherish forever til death do they part. It takes a moment for everyone, even the stagehands and media members who were present to break out of the spell. If anything was for sure, people felt like they'd just seen an angel on earth. The cheering was slow to start, but quickly resumed its former titanic rumble, by that time 5pb was already racing towards you.

"Producer! I did it!"

You stifle a giggle.

"What?" 5pb looks distraught just at the mere hinting thought of your disapproval.

"We could've marketed this show a hundred times easier if you would've told me that you wanted to play a song that no one has ever heard before."

5pb folds her hands in her lap as she stands opposite to you, head starting to hang.

"I-I saw you walk by- and… and… I couldn't help myself."

Right then, her "stage high" had worn off. Time to get 5pb away from the crowds.

5pb emerges from her dressing room looking like a new lady. She hides what she previously so boldly exposed with a hoodie and a plain skirt with long socks. She pulls you along into your temporary office by the wrist, sitting you down in the swiveling leather executive chair and conquering your lap.

You find yourself under an onslaught of kisses as soon as 5pb drapes her slender arms over your shoulders.

"S-So, now that I feel less stressed out, uh, how was your day sweetie?" 5pb nervously inquires.

"I've spent it all watching over you."

You feel a prick as one of her nails dig into your neck.

"Any cuuute stagehands you need to fire~?" She sings nonchalantly.

"As usual, no."

Her vice grip releases and falls back into a resting embrace.

"That's how it should be. Anyways. I think I did really great today! Did you like the song I did for you?"

Your mind goes blank, just trying to conjure the song into your memory seems impossible.

"I-It was good right?! You know that I wrote that just for you!?" She desperately continues.

You struggle to find an answer.

"I loved it, but please, be more careful. We take enough of a risk having these little rendezvous with the press still so close."

5pb presses her forehead to your chest.

"If I had you, I wouldn't need anything else. Just playing my songs for you would be enough. I don't know how I would relax from all the pressure without you either."

You pull the singer into your arms, tightly hugging her petite frame.

"You're so wonderful at making music, why does a crowd scare you so much? It's usually the same people that love to hear you play."

5pb clutches at your body.

"I- I don't know! It just feels like my heart would stop when I'm not singing though!"

She looks up into your eyes, her violet eyes are like looking into an eternal twilight yet shake like palm trees in a hurricane.

"Y-You're the only thing that keeps me from freaking out during press conferences. Those feel more like a combination of torture and interrogation than free advertising."

You laugh, letting her free as you wipe away tears of joy.

"Are you serious? Sweetie you beat a thug nearly to death because he touched me when he was trying to steal my wallet."

"I was CONVINCED it was one of those cross dressing girls!" 5pb retreats from your chest, an indignant expression on her face.

"Alright alright, sure, I'll try and suspend my disbelief that a girl can grow that big of a beard and moustache." Your attempt at humor falls on deaf ears.

5pb has knit her hands together, staring right through the wall and you.

"Must. Protect." She shakes the trance off, giving you a smooch on the cheek.

"You know that Gameindustri is a pretty nice place, I doubt you'll have to-"

"NO!" 5pb's voice quivers with anger, she's shaking for a moment before she continues speaking.

"I'll protect you from anyone and anything. Especially other girls that would take you from me~ I will be your wife!" Whenever 5pb gets overly protective of you, she tends to slightly sing whatever is coming from that part of her mind.

"You want to go to the hotel? It's getting late."

5pb nods, taking her small handbag along as well.

You wake up to your girlfriend on your chest, not a single garment of clothing between you two. You pivot your legs off the side of the bed, stretching and reaching for both your phone and a glass of water.

You feel hands trail their way along your back, pulling your body back into 5pb's embrace.

She pulls herself up to your ear height.

"You know that I poked holes in all~ of the condoms we used~"

"WHAT!?"

5pb doesn't even try to contain her lust.

"So maybe, you could just make sure that I got what I want and take care of me one~ last~ time today." What your biology and brain are telling you to do are two very different things. The moment your body responded to the remark, she was already on top of you.

As you pull on clothes, you shake your head and talk to 5pb.

"What are you thinking? We-"

5pb puts a finger over your lips.

"I Will, be your wife."

"Are you kidding?! You're acting insane!"

5pb freezes, eyes again staring through you. Her lips twist into a horrifying grin.

"Are you saying, that. That you're not going to take responsibility? I mean, you've probably got a son or daughter on the way and you're just going to leave me? You're going to leave my Love~ for you?"

You've backed yourself into a corner with this one.

"N-no-"

5pb gains a full faced smile.

"Then everything is fine~" She puts a knife away as her hands come from behind her back.

What the hell have you done.


	3. A Helping Hand in Lowee

A Helping Hand in Lowee

You were at your summer job "working". In this case, working meant little more than waiting for the clock to tick over and dealing with the occasional rush of orders from passing groups of tourists. You nearly dozed off leaning against the cool countertops of the ice cream display case. There was a beauty to the swirls of vibrant colors and decadent flavors, but to be perfectly honest, you were sick of even seeing sweet things.

As you propped yourself up, you noticed an oddity in the nearly empty halls of the mall.

A young girl in a brown coat with blue trim and a milk chocolate bob style haircut wrung her hands nervously as she waited, for what, you did not know. The time slipped away and the girl took a seat dejectedly at a bench. Should you get help?

You hadn't seen a customer for half an hour now, it would surely be a good time to see if the girl was lost. It seems like she's looking at you longingly for help.

As you approached the girl, you heard a nervous gulp.

"H-Hello- uh… Sir. I can't find my sisters… they told me to wait where I got lost if this ever happened… but uh, it's been a long time…" The expression on her little face is heartbeats away from crying.

"Little miss, I work here, let's call up the security guy and-"

What would sooth a young girl whose been lost? That's right dumbass, you know exactly what would ease her back into high spirits from this incident.

"Let me get you some ice cream, even a cookie or something. Anything you like in particular? We'll call on the speakers for your sisters too."

The girl nods but follows at a distance. She doesn't get closer until you offer a chocolate and sprinkle covered ice cream cone.

"Thank you~"

Even the sluggish day seems to melt away just looking at this girl's happy face, it was worth the chew-out by your boss for giving away goods. You crack a smile, turning away to pick up the phone. As you dial for the intercom system the small girl's voice returns, strained and as loud as possible.

"BIG SIS NO!"

You turn on heel, greeted by a tremendous, gleaming chrome, gray and white warhammer. None other than Lady White Heart in a matching jumpsuit is wielding the giant weapon as if it was made of foam.

"Give me my fuckin' sister back."

A girl in a matching coat with red trim rather than blue enters the scene.

"Yeah you big dummy! Where's Rom!?"

What. The. Hell.

Rom runs in front of you, spreading her arms as if to protect you.

"He isn't mean big sis! He was calling for help after I got lost!"

The presiding Lady tucks Rom under her arm, using the hammer's handle as a sort of walking stick while inspecting the blue sister for any misplaced hair.

"Alright, I don't see anything outta place, so listen good."

A blinding white light enraptures the whole food court for a moment, commanding the attention of other sleepy vendors. A girl who couldn't have been 14 leans onto your counter wearing a pure white coat with thick earth colored fur trim elegantly hanging off her shoulders, obscuring a lightweight short dress of similar color choices..

"I'll take two cones. What do you want Ram?"

The red trimmed girl steps forwards, you presume this is Ram.

"Hehehe, I'll have EVERYTHING!"

Lady Whiteheart seems unamused by her younger sister's antics and grabs Ram by the scruff of her coat.

"Make the same as you did for Rom, this one is a real pain." The Lady wastes no time in dragging Ram and Rom to the same table, Rom seems to be happy that you didn't end up as a fine paste. The trio talks at a barely recognizable level, after some bickering and a few outbursts from Ram, Rom approaches you with a handful of change. Your attention to Rom obscures the arrival of her older sister in front of you as well.

"Have a tip! For great service!"

"You have a nice day miss~"

Lady Whiteheart lingers while Rom skips back to Ram, the pair holds hands and races away. Their action presses the Lady to speak quickly to stop their departure.

"Forgive me for my actions, but it's just part of being a big sister."

"No hard feelings-" There really are, but holding a grudge seems ridiculous against a Goddess. Not like she could do any better than apologize for almost smashing you to death.

As the trio leaves, you can't help but feel like you'll see them much more often after today.


	4. Five Lead

Five Lead (Period) (A 5pb. story)

Somewhere in Leanbox, a man wakes up. Not any ordinary man though, this is the one and only Producer for the legendary, chart-topping, record setting 5pb, a graceful girl with unmatchable vocal power. He normally would be cramming his top idol's schedule with venues and appearances, making sure her music sounded just right when she recorded- he did everything but write and play the songs. As a duo, they were unmatched in the music industry.

Here though, he wasn't so high and mighty.

He had taken three months of vacation after a particularly brutal tour and was now supposed to be into his first week back. The Producer rolls over, searching for his phone in the darkened bedroom. His reaching hand knocks over a nearly empty bottle of sleeping pills.

He had never anticipated the stress of a life in the spotlight, sleep never came easily and when it did, it was erratic and inconsistent. Since his vacation, he had fallen into a cycle of sleeping until they wore off and then using a few more. A deep weariness pervaded his body and spirit.

He thought back to the old days, when him and 5pb would play for a crowd of enraptured passer-bys watching two children turn a cheap keyboard and microphone into what felt like a concert hall. To see 5pb smile was worth more than their jar full of tips… he loved her. She did too. He would never forget their first kiss, their steamy sessions in between performances or during a movie- 5pb in love was entirely different than the fragile girl that was seemingly always frightened or skittish for some reason or the superstar idol 5pb on stage.

He knew those days were gone. There wasn't a life without cameras upon cameras, every waking moment tortured by the demons everyone else calls "paparazzi" or reporters.

The doorbell rings, he rolls over.

As the foggy haze of sleep begins to take over again, the doorbells rings three times in a burst. He wanders down the stairs, unshaven and groggy. He opens the door to 5pb who has donned a wool winter coat, black tights with nearly knee high buckled boots and a royal purple plaid scarf. Her expression hurts him more than anything else has.

She can't speak initially, like she hadn't thought up a plan for finding her Producer alive. She breaks down, sobbing, trapping the man in a hug.

"I need you!" She screams, falling to her knees.

She sweeps away tears, punching a wall weakly.

"I need you." She says stiffly, clearing her nose.

"You-"

"No! No! No excuses! I'm not enough to do this all by myself!"

The angered idol snatches him by the dirty shirt's neck, eyes ablaze.

"When you promised that we would do this together, I THOUGHT we meant it!"

She wipes away streaming tears, letting go and turning away. She takes a menacing step back towards the producer who has no excuses in an instant.

"You DIDN'T need ME. YOU are THE BEST at what you do. WHO ELSE would've taken a risk on some stupid girl like ME? Some girl crying because she's in the studio for the first time? TELL THE TRUTH, you risked EVERYTHING you had setup, you DIDN'T have to do any of this!."

5pb can't hold the tide of tears back any longer and her face drops, each solitary drop hits the floor quietly in the dead of winter.

"You gave me everything, love and a chance. I could never repay you, it's not possible!"

She strikes out with an arm in the air which soon sweeps towards the ground, resting away from her side, posing as if for a stage show.

"I'M NOT GIVING UP ON YOU. GET UP! I NEED YOU FOR ALL THE GODDESSES' SAKE!"

The Producer can't justify what he's done. He finds himself crying without making a peep or slight sniffle. 5pb pulls him into a tight hug in her wool coat and closes the door of his house behind her.

"I love you… don't die on me." She whispers, voice breaking.

"It feels like a lifetime since we were kids."

"We aren't kids anymore." 5pb says with a pleading tone. The girl lets her embrace slack.

"What if all this time was for nothing and you just gave up now!? I can't let that happen, I love you too much to walk away!" 5pb continues to plead with vigor.

"It'll hurt. But I'm here for you." She rolls one of her coat buttons with a hand idly.

"We'll make it. Just believe in me." She finishes with determination.


	5. Ave Maria

If you don't have a strong heart, or love Nepgear, probably don't read this.

Im serious. This is the toned down version.

-Ave Maria-

Planeptune was a pleasant country, idyllic and vert. While this was largely because of a series of incompetent rulers who couldn't develop a modern nation to save their own life, it was a nice place to live, really all of Gamindustri was quite pleasant.

Nepgear was a CPU of this particular nation. For being the leader of the world as the people knew it, she didn't behave like such.

The girl's purple bed-head is weakly tied behind her head with what appears to be a twist tie from a loaf of bread. She meandered into the convenience store, taking a case of energy drinks, some cheap snack cakes and a bottle of painkillers for her splitting headache.

The girl's dopey eyes blinked slowly as she stepped into the sun. She just stood there for a bit, either warming up or spacing out. While her brief pause was likely a combination of both, Gear didn't seem to mind much. Nepgear pulled the tab on an energy drink, nearly spilling the foul smelling liquid on her flip flops. Her shirt had a few stains on it, but most of them were obscured by a purple bathrobe. She blinked quickly, slightly leaning after she took a slurp off the top of the can.

"Whew~" she thought. The beverage was cold enough to phase her, sending a tingle down her spine and setting a slightly improved aura to her eyes. She spaced out again for a second, regaining her bearing much slower than the first time before listlessly moving back towards her home in the Basilicom. Nepgear was feeling alright by the time she got home though her eyes felt like weights. It was about noon.

Nepgear peels herself awake, throwing another pill into her mouth. The headaches were common now, nearly every morning she was nearly crippled with pain. Her eyes chases each other around in their sockets for a moment, trying to remember what happened the day before.

"If I don't remember, must've not been important." She thought.

The kitchen near the entrance is cold due to the large slabs of stone and air conditioning. Even more so when one tries to get away with wearing nothing but panties.

Gear retreats to her room, shivering with a bowl of ramen. She wraps her bare breast in a fleece blanket before digging into some chicken flavored salt. She flops a hand onto her wireless keyboard, waking the PC which is attached to her TV. She stares at the stack of cardboard boxes in the corner of her room, which contain all the former decorations of her room.

In the past two years, Gear has cut her room down to a workbench which sees increasingly rare use, a bed, dresser and PC. Nepgear couldn't stand the sight of the CPU Plushies for a day longer when she boxed them up. She had started by putting them in the closet, but even knowing that they were there was too much.

Gear stares at the screen for a bit, questioning what she wants to do before giving up and rolling over on her bed. Where's the harm in taking a little nap, she thinks. Gear reaches for the bottle of sleeping pills, grabbing whatever felt right in her wild grasping.

"I'd never thought I'd be such a loner." says Nepgear in a trance.

Her pupils are pinpoints, the paint and spackling on the bare wall entertains her addled mind plenty. Her mouth seems to shrivel up, pushing the girl to chug her glass of water before meandering into the kitchen again. The chills wrack her thin frame, sending her towards a hoodie.

Histoire is powerless, she is forced to watch Gear go through these motions.

"Nepgear-san, please, should I call a doct-"

Nepgear weakly throws an empty can at Histoire.

"You're not REAL!"

Histoire can't even think of a reaction besides bewilderment.

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

"That's RIGHT, disappear you- you go- ghost! *hick*"

Histoire hides behind a pillar, speed dialing IF.

"Something is very wrong with Nepgear, could you come as soon as possible? Bring Compa too, we may need her expertise."

"We're in what used to be Lastation, we'll get there as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Gear has made it back to her room, singing loudly to herself. The bathroom Histoire passes reeks of stomach acid and partially digested foods. Histoire pinches her nose in disgust, doing her best to hover over the highly intoxicated Nepgear.

"Everyone's afraid of what I do inside my room, scared I'm gonna do something crazy. Well I already did crazy stuff, what are they gonna do? Un-crazy me?"

Gear's illustration of her thought processes is grim and leaves a terrible sinking feeling in Histoire's heart.

Nepgear wakes up on the couch, which is definitely not where she fell asleep. It's not as if Gear can tell though, she goes about her usual process of deleting brain cells and shirking her duties. Her eyes wore heavy with dark rings around them and weighty bags under.

She wears the same foul outfit, having nearly surrendered any resemblance to the bright girl she once was.

While Nepgear was surprised that IF and Compa found her so quickly, she also had many questions. It was the most Gear had talked in a long time.

With a tremendous smile in a complete change from her previous attitude, Nepgear started.

"So, when are we gonna go save Onee-chan?"

Compa turned away, IF loses any pretense of professionalism before stuttering out a response.

"W-wHat?"

Gear was cheerful and repeated herself. IF was visibly disturbed and Compa excused herself to get a glass of water. Histoire pulled the girls aside as Gear wandered away.

"I am out of tools and tricks. I need your help, I-"

IF shook her head.

"I don't know if there is anything we can do."

Compa's eyes said more than she ever would. Her usually wider frame shrunk as her arms wrapped around each other in a nervous fit.

"B-But Ai-chan, wha-what about Gear? We can't just leave her this way…"

IF peeked over the kitchen's bar. Gear was passed out on the couch.

"Please, you two are all I have to help. I require assistance in keeping her at least confined to the Basilicom and in building a warning beacon."

IF more than a little irked but sees the source of Nepgear's frustrations.

"She promised that she wouldn't fall to decay, not in thousands of years, and here we are. It's been what, two years? If she doesn't get her act together, all of Gameindustri dies, that includes us."

"Please. Both of you, just for a while, then I'll let you both go."

"It's not like we have any options really."

IF turns, looking for Compa. Compa was sitting in front of Gear, taking little measurements.

"Hisu… san… Ge-Ge doesn't look so good."

"I'd figured as much, there is little I can do to stop her. As the omnipotent CPU, were she to enter a fit of rage especially in withdrawal there is nothing anyone could do if I were to attempt to remove her dependance."

"Wh-Why didn't you stop her before it got this bad?"

"Gear lost a bit of herself back then. I lost the ability to ask her things, and she became secretive. Having such a breakdown of communication between Oracle and CPU is a crash course for disaster."

The Makers don't deny the facts, they were there for everything anyways. The trio set to work immediately, recording and storing what we could about their soon failed struggle with the Deity of Sin and the Cursed Sword.

Compa insists that Nepgear stays with her in the front room. Compa keeps smiling at Gear despite the fact that it's quite clear that a conflict is happening inside the CPU's mind. It seems that she don't know what Compa is smiling about. Nepgear's face says "What is there to smile about? Stop smiling."

"Can you stop?"

"Stop what Gear-chan?"

"Smiling."

Compa doesn't understand. She hides her heart with her balled up hands.

"S-Smiling is it's own medicine, you at least have to try…"

"Why?"

"Because- Because you're all we've got, and we haven't given up yet!"

"Why?"

The waterworks start. For some reason, Compa's tears only incite a disdain in Nepgear's frigid heart.

"... Can you please stop?" Nepgear says through a grimace.

Gear sighs. Her mouth twists into a grit.

SMACK!

Gear's hand and Compa's face both recoil at her slap.

"I told you to stop."

Compa flees with a trail of tears following before crashing into IF who is leaping into action.

"What the HELL Nepgear?!"

IF may be cool, collected and generally one of the most responsible people in Gameindustri, but a direct attack on her best friend from another friend is more than enough to unhinge her. Compa cowers by IF's side while the strong willed tomboy takes a stand.

IF might've been able to restrain herself, but Gear thought it was funny that Compa was so distraught apparently.

"And she hasn't even killed anybody, despite her urging me on~"

Histoire hovers over IF's shoulder.

"I see you've recovered to some extent."

"And?"

"Your behavior has been immortalized. You promised everyone, including the girl you just slapped that you wouldn't give up for thousands of years, and yet here we are. It's been two years."

"So what are you gonna do about-"

IF's nose wrinkled at Gear's insolence.

"We'll cut your shares off and make a new CPU, even if it kills us, because it's better than dealing with you."

Gear's pupils shrink to pinpoints she takes a few menacing steps towards the adamant trio. Compa finally recovers enough to speak.

"Ge-Ge, you shouldn't be moving so much with the medicine I gave you…"

Gear falls to a knee, a menacing aura pervading the room. She claws a few more feet forwards before collapsing. Her sleep deprived eyes cut with lasers into IF.

"Was this part of your master plan? Kill me? Go ahead."

IF's patience is lost, she leaps into the face of the arrogant girl.

"That would be too dignified. I wouldn't have gotten even a quarter as mad if you slapped me instead of Compa. She offers you affection and you respond with violence, what a joke of a Goddess."

"You did this too IF, I don't care how much you grandstand. You pushed me to do this, when we did all of this because-"

"We did this because you're a fuck-up of a leader, ALL we had to do was collect shares and restore the Nations, we never had to do all this. Instead, you made a mess and started pinning it on the rest of us and got mad when we pushed you in the only direction we had left. Where was your resolution when we needed to made the easy decisions early on, and yet jumped right into killing CPUs?!"

IF's now unrestrained temper and Gear's delusional ranting is a feedback loop that has to be broken before all hope is lost for the dimension. Histoire intervenes.

"Please, everyone. We have no options and must continue, do not fight like this; it is the very opposite of productive."

IF stands and turns, refusing to look Histoire or Nepgear in the eye.

"I'm out of here. I'll go to a dimension without psychopathic little sisters."

Compa looks between all of the present girls.

"D-Don't… I don't wanna choose…"

Gear shifts, sitting against the couch.

She bears her usual blank stare. Histoire hesitates to speak, realizing that the next thing said has crippling implications.

"IF, you may go. The beacon is complete."

Nepgear slowly cracks a smile.

"What?" scoffs IF.

"It just doesn't matter." says Gear.

"Really?"

"It just doesn't matter." repeats Gear.

The three are now focused on the girl.

Loudly, Gear speaks again, bordering on yelling.

"It just doesn't matter."

"What doesn't matter.?" asks Histoire.

"IT JUST DOESN"T MATTER." screams Gear.

Descending into a tirade, Gear weakly stands against the couch, using the back of it as a support for her failing legs.

"EVEN! Even IF WE WON, HA! Even if we somehow beat Arfoire, EVEN if we fought so hard that our muscles were sore for a year and four days, EVEN if all the Goddesses in Celestia and that GODDAMN sword came back and blessed our party, our nation and CHOSE OUR SIDE OF THE FIELD, EVEN if EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD, HELD HANDS TOGETHER, AND PRAYED FOR US TO WIN, IT JUST WOULDN'T MATTER BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, ASIC CAN JUST REVIVE AND FIGHT AGAIN."

"I see." says Histoire with an increasing ambivalence.

"Please go with IF, Compa. I'm sure Plutia in the Ultra Dimension could use you."

"Can't you come with us Hisu?" Compa nervously asks.

"A captain goes down with their ship." says the fairy Oracle with a fleeting, tired smile.


	6. Fireworks

Often as children, people will wish to be immortal, to experience life forever. Only with age do we see that dream as foolish.

The night graced the Lastation Basilicom with an eerie darkness. The lights of the city never let even a corner become fully dark.

A woman labored at a desk, fulfilling request forms and reading through paperwork all the same as she had for decades. She closed a report's hard backed cover and sighed. 20:00 was "quitting time" for the experienced worker. As she stood, one could make out her elegant figure: she was a Goddess, one of the four immortal women that ruled over the world of Gameindustri. Over the years, she had been the uncontested leader of them in sheer power, that combined with a slender, toned figure and an air of superiority could've made her leader of the world. Noire was her name, which she matched in the colors of her uniform. Despite so many opportunities, she never surpassed her perceived "station", probably because the friends she made were-

Noire strode over to a shelf in her room. The solitary, massive window shone with hazy lights and the moon, casting long shadows in her quarters.

Her friends were wonderful. She couldn't ever tell them that out of pride, yet Noire was sure that they knew how much she appreciated them. The pictures of Compa, IF, MAGES… so many others- she had a few pictures that stood next to their younger versions: all of the ladies with families. Compa's daughter looked just like her to the point of almost being a clone of the kind, innocent nurse. Noire had never bothered to get acquainted with the grandkids of any of the original group. Noire traces a finger over CC2, arm going slack.

Things were different now.

Noire might be the uncontested victor on the battlefield, but echoes still ring in her mind. She cringes at the crackle of fireworks outside her window. Noire didn't like crowds anymore, formerly basking the light of her popularity. She remembers parading through conventions, galas and events like she was the star of the show, even if she arrived unexpectedly at the insistence of Neptune, Vert or Blanc.

Uni, Noire's beloved younger sister had nearly an entire shelf dedicated to pictures and memories. Noire's heart burned with the urge to just go and talk with her co-Goddess, or "Candidate" as they the younger sister of a Goddess is called. A rap on the door rouses Noire from her trance.

Uni's kind red eyes poke through a crack in the door.

"Big Sis…"

Both of them duck as a firework goes off with a savage boom.

Noire rushes to Uni, hugging the small girl and patting her head.

"I know you're scared."

Uni's lower lip loses it's stiffness.

"Y-You're scared too Big sis."

Noire can hardly maintain her facade.

"Every year we warn people to not go out unprepared, but it doesn't matter."

Noire stiffly continues, holding her sister tight.

"Spring fireworks. Monster hunting is back tomorrow. We already sent 'good luck' to everyone we know."

Spring. The most dreaded season of all. Even Noire finds herself praying for a long winter these days. Maybe there would be a storm tomorrow, maybe for just one more day that season would be delayed. She hoped that it would pour down thunder and rain like some heavenly power was mad at everyone in Gameindustri.

"How many of them are going to make it back?" Uni says as she chokes back tears.

"What's worse, waiting for word or knowing what will happen?"

Not a sniffle comes from the older sister, but she can feel the tears running down her cheeks. She pats the long, sleek dark hair of her younger sister, hoping the gesture would cheer up either of them in vain.


	7. Nine Goddesses and an Angel

(this is an old story that I dug up and tried to fix)

Nine Goddesses and an Angel

I don't mean to say that it doesn't matter, the truth is very much the opposite, but a lady must take responsibility for their actions and I regret the actions of the last month. On a Ranger's honor, I hold everything in this leather-bound journal to be truth and entrust my story to those who will hold it in heart, like the Planeptune Oracle I leave this to.

A Ranger under the employ of Lastation is in my opinion, one of the best peacekeepers in our world. We're faster than a snake bite on the draw and would turn any big city detective red with envy from our investigative skills. It doesn't matter if we're deep in the city of factories and firms that makes up our capital or the mines and farms of the country, a Ranger will find the culprit. When Lady Black Heart assigned me personally to her quarrel with an outlaw witch, I took it as the highest of honors. Throughout my years, my extraordinary eye had won me more than a few nicknames after my gun had been holstered and smoke cleared. My story starts in the grimy underbelly of the capital.

The grey grit that stuck to the walls, or every surface for that matter was the worst defining characteristic of this hellhole. It lay just as the wind blew under the shadow of the Refinery district. My dust scarf had become difficult to breathe through and I thanked the goddesses that I had reached my destination.

The bar had a makeshift air filter taped into the window made of a fan and some cotton rags, a 2 door entry did the rest. A rickety lightup sign advertised whatever cheap swill alcohol that they had for sale. For the supposed hub of villainy that others had made it out to be, I was not impressed.

The bar was too empty for an attempt to blend in but the interior was much more developed than the grimy exterior. The bar was a great flat of dark hardwood, stained and polished by decades of booze and hands. A pianist in a dated red dress left a thin trail of greyish-blue smoke from her cigarette as she waltzed back to her meal at the bar. The bartender was an aged brunette with a temperament to match the short barrel shotgun under the counter. The nearly lawless regions were a bunch of bizarre place, but someone like myself with a .44 in their coat could at least get a drink, some information and hang around long enough to figure out what was going on. I had traded my usual herder/drifter outfit for a thin wool overcoat and my leather hip holster for a more concealable shoulder holster. Even though I had just washed my long, chocolate brown hair, it took no time for the grime of this underworld to make me feel uncomfortable. I put a strand back behind my ear before I placed my palms on the bar, picking my seat.

Even though I had been sitting, my boots' clicking noise on the stiff wooden and stone floor still echoed in the back of my mind from the moments just before. My hand slipped to my belt, out of pure habit to right above where one of my two revolvers would usually sit. With a quick tap and word I got a shallow glass of whiskey, resting my elbow on the bar as I scanned the place for a second time. If it weren't for the razor slyly under my belt I would have already cocked my pistol.

The flapping of the kitchen doors to the left of the bar are the sound I will forever remember as the moment I saw him. The owner of this fine establishment and the man who I knew to have been the last to see the witch I was hunting. The bounty and reputation for killing a witch was extreme, but only an exceptional few even would attempt and those few often died and were increasingly rare these days. An owner would be too well versed in the rumors and intrigue of crime to not recognize my well known golden irises and slender gunslinger figure. My mother had said that my eyes were green when I was but a babe but had changed as I matured. I decided to make my retreat after leaving a thick silver coin with my empty glass. If the brim of my hat had not been tipped forwards the witch surely would have discovered me.

The witch had heavy makeup and a mature body and voice with a strangely tinted skin. Whatever the case was, I had to linger. I slid into a booth when no one had been facing me and made sure to put myself away from the two suspects before ordering a simple meal and another drink. My ear captured their conversation.

"Ah, so you again Ms Arfoire?"

"Oh you know me too well sir!"

"The usual?"

"Of course, if you've got some time."

The man pours two dishes of sake and sets the bottle down between them.

After a long draught and a shiver, the witch sets the dish down to refill her alcohol.

"Arfoire, you wouldn't be too busy to..."

Arfoire's slightly rosy cheeks close part of the gap to the owner as she asks him something quietly.

I can feel the chemistry between them, the man is planning a date with the woman. My eyes narrow, and I can feel the feet standing behind my seat. It is moments like these I wish that I had kept my normal holster, my hand flashes to a gun that isn't there out of pure instinct. Rather than a foe, a low class bounty hunter stands behind me, with an intrigued look.

"So what's "The Hawk" doing in some dump like this?"

My hand repositioned to the flip open razor before I spoke. The hunter cuts me off.

"I've heard the stories about those thin eyes you have. Don't mind me stealing your target. Lil' Miss Hawk is gonna get beat to it this time."

The comment about my less than well endowed chest doesn't interfere with my thought process at all compared to the possibility of my quarry running to ground. I went at a quick pace towards the kitchen flapping doors, reaching under my coat for the trusty six-shooter that has seen and won so many battles. As the bounty hunter draws, I reach as well, not to stop her but to ensure that my prey does not escape in a direction I cannot follow or to end this now. My other hand reaches to the knapsack for my long barrel .45 long, the only other gun I have. The shout of the pianist acknowledging my now present leather holster on my hip signals the others of the room into action. The bounty hunter's pistol nearly fires before the witch stops the attempted assassination.

The entire front of the building blows out, I was only alive from the protection of the corner I had stood behind to properly equip myself. The witch, Arfoire has protected herself and the man from the blast she created. The man is not 5 meters away when we locked eyes.

My eyes narrow, pupils slipping to the edges of my gold irises.

My right arm tensions and fingers slip into a loose grip as the left arm comes in front of my chest only a hand's length from my belt, hand open.

My feet slide just a touch farther apart than my shoulders.

The familiar heft of the revolver followed my right hand as the left hand reaches for the hammer to cock.

To ensure he goes down, and the witch to his side, I decided to add a blink of delay to the draw, a mistake but it nearly ended this ordeal without the pain that involvement became.

"FIRE ENFILADE-!"

I was cut off of my spellcast by a shockwave from the witch's staff.

As I lay in a pile of brick dust from my and the shockwave's impact with the wall, I watch the two lovers flee.

My head rings as I give chase, one can only run so fast in the smog and soot ridden air of this district. The witch drags the man out the gate leading towards the Lowee border and my usual patrol area.

I had secured a horse, well shod and fierce. I rode well into the night, through the great badlands road that lead to the next town. There had been a time when the only comeuppance a person had out in these regions was the gun they stole off their fellow man. The people left had fought like hell to build the ranches, bars, inns and farms that now populated the great vastness and kept people fed in the capital and around these parts.

There was a great battle on this border long ago. Lastation fought for their place in this world with a ferocity that would make a prize bull proud. Lowee and Planeptune had attacked some Lastation soldiers in the valley, and the resulting battle of a few dozen Lastationites versus thousands of enemy soldiers was a victory not seen since Tari's sweep of the world, granting Lastation their sovereignty in nearly one battle though not a single Lastation soldier present lived through that battle. The valley had since been named "The Valley of the Fusiliers", after the riflemen that had held the line so long ago.

The trails were becoming more familiar as I ventured into one of my beloved towns.

It was just sunrise as you saw a strange sight. A young lady, in a black sailor outfit with twin tail styled hair holding a great rifle with a whole troop of deputies. It appeared that outlaws had shacked up in the bank, but had never anticipated who had arrived. The girl flashed with the signature sound and transformation of a CPU. The outlaws fell, slowly but surely to the Goddess' rifle. She showed a smug, victorious expression as she flashed back into her sailor girl outfit.

The revolver on my hip tapped out a rhythm in its aged and tough holster as I approached the unique sight, as my spurs did the same. Standing nearly a head taller than the girl did not help ease the tension that such an aura of power emits.

"Oi you're late!" the small girl chimes.

"Huh?" I had made no arrangements with this girl at this point.

The girl does not face you yet while she continues, someone that would make such a cocky gesture is out of place in these rough lands. As the girl spins, she quickly noticed my silver Ranger pin and the worn long iron in my holster. Her eyes and expression change from a formal blind to a fangirl-ish grin.

The girl approaches after she sends her troop off, gripping my hand with superhuman strength while she investigated what feels like every corner of my body with her eyes in a childish enthusiasm.

"My big sister appoints you guys, Rangers are like the coolest!"

This was not the power of a full fledged CPU, what terror must a full Goddess contain remained a mystery until later.

The girl drug me to the store, offered some basic supplies and found herself a glass bottle of soda; all while talking my ear off. Granted the conversation is very one sided, it's quite nice to see such energy and enthusiasm from a young lady. We stopped on the back porch of a general store, facing out to the rising sun.

"So what kinda gun you have there miss?"

It takes a moment to snap out of my empty trance. It was odd to be in a conversation for so long.

"Oh, well. Just a standard issue .44 Ranger revolver-"

"And?" She says pointing at the .45 in the holster.

"Miss CPU, you're quite hasty, what's your name?"

"Uni! Candidate CPU of Lastation!"

"Well you should know to be a bit more patient, us country folk tend to talk a bit slower than ya'll."

The glimmer in her eye told me to continue about my trusted long barrel revolver.

"Well, 6 shots, 11.43mm or .45 depending on how you like your measure, 6.75 inch barrel with a single action trigger."

Her hand was hovering over my gun. Her motion was blocked perfectly by reflex with a split second between life and death for her. Even as a CPU, she could still fall to something as simple as a bullet or sword.

"Miss Uni. Do Not Ever. Do That."

Uni looks confused.

"Huh?"

It takes her a second to realize that my whole body shifted into a drawing stance and lets out a squeal.

"Can you show me how to do that cowboy draw Ms. Ranger?"

Uni missed the entire point of my reaction in her excitement, the fact that I had hopped so quickly to the draw on one of my beloved Goddesses terrified me.

"Don't touch a Ranger's gun without permission, we're trained to protect our guns, justice and honor more than our lives."

Uni pays no mind and clears her throat, having set up a sawhorse with her empty soda bottle on top. While l felt obliged to teach the both excited and trained markswoman on the draw, she seemed to lack the calm that one would need, or at least I had thought.

I came to learn, that Uni loves nothing more than guns except her big sister.

Her absolute focus was on my teaching at that moment.

It takes only moments to correct her stance, and the shots soon fly.

CRACK!

Miss.

CRACK!

Miss.

CRACK!

The bottle turned to green sand as soon as the gun sounded.

After only three draws and shots, Uni hit the bottle from 15 paces or so. I have never before or since seen someone so focused, so perfectly malleable or with an eye as sharp as mine.

As she holstered my borrowed pistol, her demeanor returned, letting out a happy squeal as she peels the belt off to offer it back.

I got away from Uni after helping her purchase a similar holster and gun from the gunsmith and leather workers on main street. Burning a few hours let me wait for the people of the town to emerge, hopefully dragging the prey out under a false sense of concealment. The seedy bar on the opposite side of town was my first checkpoint. Resuming a search at the mid of the day should let me at least run along the quarry's path while they go about picking up supplies for a run to the farthest corners of the world.

The boards creak as I stepped through the swinging doors, observing little other than a usual barfly trying to meet the floorboards and a lonely bartender cleaning up. The row of cheap and or contraband merchants are doing their usual daily business. The midday crowd is sizeable, enough to send my eyes flickering among the marketgoers. Following various couples covered in more concealing gowns fails to yield any result.

I ran into Uni again, she had a message that she was quite eager to give.

"The moment we see Arfoire, we gotta call my big sis and her friends!"

The girl surely doesn't mean-

"Neptune, Vert, Gear, Blanc, Rei, Plut, and Big Sis are ready at any moment to help us take her down!"

Uni saw my shock and continued.

"ALL the CPUs will be here to take that hag down! Don't you worry!"

I had no clue that I had been sent on a suicide mission up to this point.

Uni looked exceptionally happy despite my concern.

"Plus I get to help you out Ranger-san!"

Now that I knew how deep in trouble I was, the help was appreciated.

As you stood on watch, you saw a couple deep in a kiss on a rooftop. You could not read their lips at this distance but saw that they were whispering little nothings to each other. The woman was pale, but… there was a purplish tinge? Her hair was also halfway between white and purple. At a glance it could have easily been mistaken for Lady Purple Heart of Planeptune, but you know that is not possible. The woman locks eyes just for a moment and then escapes the rooftop with the man.

I couldn't help but to give chase, the man and woman split at an intersection. The woman's clothes looked to be- well transforming is only the word for it. They were both of the witch and a regal design you had never seen before. Uni had already sent word, it was up to me to trace the fiends and hopefully apprehend them before things had to get destructive.

Panting, bullets and gear rattling as I charged down the streets, slipping past and through the crowds like a hummingbird, I refuse to let the man escape, for those who chase two rabbits, get none.

I hear the gravel slip as the man stops. He is cornered. He is also unarmed.

I cannot kill an unarmed man.

You can see the plea in his eye to live, but hear none. His heart is with that witch, whatever is going on with her.

"Miss, I know you to be a Ranger, one of honor."

You put the scarf on your neck down revealing your face: one with a covered face is harder to trust.

"Will you hear me out miss?"

"Go on." I said as my hands shifted and feet took stance.

"The witch- she isn't a villain- well any more."

"All I have is your word versus my Lady's, who will I trust?"

"I want to be with that woman, she, well she loves me very much. She told me herself that her heart is changing. Her whole body is as well, back to when she was a true Goddess."

My right hand massages the worn wooden and steel handle of the .45.

"Are you going to help me save my love's second chance or let the Goddesses unwittingly strike her down?"

I hear the scratching of gravel on the ground behind me, too heavy to be Uni.

The stern voice is beautiful, yet mature. I recognize the voice as Arfoire.

"Hand off your gun; Ranger. I don't want to fight."

I turned to keep both in my peripheral while backing, they move to each other, falling into the other's arms. Arfoire is surprisingly- loving, she seems to care more about the safety of her man than her own. Before I could comment or make an action, I was following their flight to the frontiers.

The quickest path is up the Valley of Fusiliers and into the no-man's land of the northern expanses or remote forests near the ocean's shore.

I could see the firefly like light of the CPUs, it was deafening to my mind. There were no survivors of the Lastation Riflemen in the Valley of Fusiliers.

Without Arfoire's full CPU powers, she cannot fly and the couple is too slow on foot for the flying CPUs. The flashes of Blue, Purple, Pink, White, Green begin their attack, the mountainside to the front explodes, sending the earth shaking like a tree in a windstorm.

I was close enough to hear.

Arfoire summons her staff and stops. At 30 paces, the CPUs touch down at my sides. All but Uni.

As their boots tick the ground, you hear Arfoire say:

"If this doesn't work, this is my last fight. If they take me, don't die, live for me please."

They kiss and stand.

Arfoire pleads with all her heart, but the CPUs have fought her for too long to simply have a change of heart. I saw the grey flicker of Uni streak across the sky.

Arfoire is powerful, but the entire suite of CPUs are far too much for her.

I could not bear to watch and see if it was the lance of Leanbox, the rapier of Lastation, the longblades of Planeptune, the hammer of Lowee or the magic of long dead Tari strike Arfoire down. Arfoire had crippled many of the CPUs to such a degree that they took a moment to watch the man.

He picked Arfoire's limp and nearly lifeless body from the shattered earth around her resting spot into his arms. He sobbed, cursing the heavens and the Goddesses for his luck. Arfoire urged him to run with her last breath before fading finally. Arfoire's staff lie by her formerly pure uniform, now marred by burns and cuts.

Arfoire had told him to run.

He said for all to hear:

"Forgive me, for I cannot live without my lady."

Your honor says that he is safe as long as he does not touch that staff.

The dust begins to clear as the wind started to whip my scarf.

He bends and picks the staff up, and you could see in his eyes that he knew he couldn't win.

A magician is a skilled weaver of energy and enchantments, this man was neither. In his hands, the staff was as good as an empty gun.

Uni touches down. As soon as she calls out to her sister and friends, my heart felt that it was too late.

Her feet were already positioned, her hands already curled and arms already tensed and set up.

The thunder and lightning strike as I saw the flash, Uni finishes what her kin started here.

A crimson liquid rose blossomed from his chest as he fell to his knees over his beloved.

Eight great Goddesses that day, took another home, and that Goddess brought her own angel with.

Sissy End - for those of you that can't be settled with a sad end.

Iffy helps Histoire close the book, to an upset Uni, and a distraught trio of Compa, Rom and Ram.

"Hisu, that's no way to put cute girls to sleep with a story!" complains Compa through the tears that are attempting to ball up in the corners of her eyes.

Iffy sets the book back into the shelf as Histy explains:

"I got that from a Histoire of another dimension, she says that her particular dimension had an especially strange set of CPUs in that group."

"SAYING IT'S TRUE DOESN'T HELP!" chimes in an utterly pissed Uni.

Iffy interjects:

"I dunno, I thought that Ranger character was pretty cool."

"You're strange even in other dimensions IF." says Histoire with a giggle.

The End.


	8. Neptune and You

Ah another day at work, easy and slow, just the way you liked it. The window was open, letting you breath the fresh, clear air of your home city, Planeptune. IT work was simple for the most part once you got the hang of it, and waiting on calls from the mostly technologically illiterate workforce that you maintained equipment for was slow.

*click- chink*

Your can makes a nice fizzling noise as you take a sip of icy cold cola.

"WAWAWA! Look out!"

What the hell? Some girl just called out from outside your tiny balcony, this was a damn skyscraper, what the fuck? Whatever it was super faint, maybe a suicide attempt?

You step outside onto the balcony, overcrowded with ancient equipment that your penny pinching bosses refused to let go of or store properly.

WHACK!

Two Purple shoes plant right into your face as someone swings down from the balcony above you.

"Nepu! I hit someone!" the vaguely familiar voice says.

Two light gray D pads and a mass of purple hair come into view as you quickly regain focus.

"Sorry Office Guy, I thought I would dodge out of the mall below and got lost can you help me before Histy tans my hide?"

"I don't know who you are even, who is Histy and what is going on."

"Oh, I'm Neptune!" says the girl with a cheesy but genuine and huge smile plus peace sign.

"Well I'm at work right now, unless you wanna hang around a bunch of computers not much I can do."

"Awww don't be so serious Guy, we could get some games going on those computers like nothing!"

Sigh. It's not like you've got anything better to do.

The girl quickly carves a space for herself out of the mass of technology, finding a chair and working computer much faster than anyone who's never been in the room should be able to. She slips a small backpack off and retrieves a cup of pudding, a small bag of chips and some sort of drink in a plastic bottle.

"Ahoi! Games are for two people ya know?"

As you're moving over to the pair of chairs in front of what looks to be a fighting game, you ask:

"I suppose, don't you wanna know my name or anything?"

"Don't care, you're helping me and that's what matters bucko!"

Ugh, bucko is the worst this Neptune girl could have chosen, what are you some kind of sidekick? Either way, you pick up a USB game controller and sit down in one of the rickety steel chairs.

"Round 1!"

Ah, a fighting game, against a girl it should be pretty easy.

Neptune proceeds to chain combo her way through you and finish your character before you can throw a punch. Goddamn, she must have caught you sleeping.

"Round 2!"

You stand back and throw a few projectiles, even managing to hit Neptune's character with a kick. The next frame is a blinding light as she fires an ultimate attack off and promptly shreds your character with meteors.

"Victory!" says the ancient speakers with a crackle and Neptune smugly turns to you.

"What kinda technology guy are you if ya can't even beat me in some video games?"

"I'm not the one that asked to play a game, different one this time and I'll wreck you."

You pull up to a desk opposing the diminutive girl's PC, bringing your own computer from your work desk.

"Call of Battle 4: Modern Battlefield is what I will trump you in." you announce.

"Huh? Number 4 in the series or the newest one that is also number 4?" asks Neptune

It takes a moment to build a few classes up, you opt for a Lastation Heavy Automatic Rifle with refilling ammunition and grenades where Neptune builds a horrifyingly speedy class with a tiny handgun and a giant laser sword melee attack.

"What map?"

"Iron Oxide, the only map for 1v1 obviously."

The match is off to a running start, very literally. Neptune's soldier is so fast that landing shots with the stiffly recoiling rifle is more difficult than usual. She quickly picks up that straight runs fail against your superior firepower and begins waiting behind obstacles. Clearing through the map with flash grenades is a temporary solution to being unable to spot the elusive character and the match reaches its close in your favor, 25 to 16.

"Hey, we would make a pretty great team online if we can give each other that much trouble, wanna try it?"

You slide the desk to her side, and start up an ingame group. Like Neptune predicted, you two utterly sweep the scoreboards, quickly causing accusations of hacking or computer and network issues among the afflicted enemy.

Round after round, you two sweep the opposition leading to many high fives, cheers and such. You never thought you could have so much fun in this stupid, overfilled office. It feels like minutes but hours have passed.

"Oi Office Guy, I've got to go back or they'll worry about me."

"Alright, it was fun."

As Neptune pulls on her backpack, she puts a finger to her cheek and says:

"Oh it would just be a shame if I skipped work again and somehow got lost and ended up here again…"

"I'm sure it would." You say with a slight smile.

It seems like it hasn't been any time since you graduated from school and landed in this job. Some of the older employees treated you poorly just because of how easy you had it or the ease in getting your position. New technology required new brains, and each generation of console or whatever that got released either required retraining or new people. This day was busy, floor fourteen had all of its routers die simultaneously and floor seventeen had an irate HR woman with a broken computer.

You got back to the your office to sit for lunch, absent mindedly playing some game on your phone while waiting on the microwave. Yesterday at this time you had just gotten kicked in the face by some girl who you ended up spending the rest of the day playing video games with.

"Damn yesterday was weird." You thought to yourself.

The day seemed a lot slower despite the rush without that girl though. Maybe Neptune would actually return, however much of a stretch it seemed. Well, she was pretty cute, a guy like you probably wouldn't have any chance. HR's computer is still broken so you should be done actually working in an hour or so. Normally, people put what they were eating for lunch online as some kind of "look at me". Some people loved to post on the internet or write about their food. Why would you write down what you were eating though, it was just a cheap ramen noodle bowl.

As you go to leave, you pause for a second. Your hand hovers over the door handle.

WHACK!

The door flattens you, throwing you towards your desk.

"AHOI OFFICE GUY!"

Still in a daze, you look up to see a familiar parka dress and face.

"Why- you're on the floor?"

"Neptune what the hell, you don't have to make an explosive entry."

"Oh but it's more fun that way mister"

"I've got to go fix someone's computer, if you're here to play games you'll have to wait."

Neptune looks less than excited but grudgingly sits down. She folds her arms over her body and asks when you'll be back.

"It's a waste of a perfectly good day to be working!" she says.

Getting things done when someone is waiting on you seems to be much easier, in typical HR fashion, they try to keep you around to talk your head off. You manage to squirm away from their overweight grasp and return to your office, where Neptune never even tried waiting and is halfway through a battle in some RTS.

"Hi."

Neptune yells some commands at her teammate through the microphone before scrambling to get the headset off and talk to you.

"Make it quick, we're about to win."

"Getting a bit into it I see?"

"If you can, why would you not want to win?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be Nep-"

"Hey, shorten my name down a bit, my besties call me Nep, Neppy-"

"Hey hey there, calm it down, I think Nep is good enough."

The girl makes a smug spin in your chair.

"If you don't move I'm going to push you out, don't dodge my question."

Nep sighs.

"Sheesh, I didn't think you could be _pushy_ …" she says jokingly.

The urge to sigh nearly overpowers you, but Neptune is a weird girl. She seems quite a bit older than her appearance gives off, and the D-Pads hairclips are strikingly similar to your CPU's plus styled pins. Maybe she's related in some way or knows more.

"Nep, are you related to Lady Purple Heart in some way?"

"Straight to the heavy stuff today eh?" she jokes as she slips out of your chair.

Your phone rings as you turn around.

Someone as far away as they can in this building wants a surplus Printer.

One of the loudest noises you've ever heard in your building makes a horrific metal shearing noise as you move to stop whatever madness Neptune has gotten herself into.

A voice rings out to the moving side of you, stopping you in your tracks.

Ring is a poor word for this, describing the beauty is one of the most difficult things you could write down.

The voice was like water running over silk, the slightest sort of vibration came off the back of the powerful female voice.

The voice was irresistible, but maintained the most majestic of airs. It didn't seem the place for the overpowering- lust or not, rather a living, breathing attraction that slipped past whoever's lips the voice belonged to. There was an innate kindness, a sort of motherly love that oozed from the finely aged tension. The sensory of everything happening is utterly overwhelming to your mind.

As you turn, a pin hits the collar of your loosely buttoned shirt. Surprisingly, the sensation is not sharp, it rather follows a clever slide into your shirt, slowly letting the picture in front of you unfold as it traces the center of your chest. The metal of the finely crafted black claw freezes the skin it touches despite your unhealthily high pulse. The hand retracts as you realize what is going on.

A woman just a few inches shorter than you brushes her bangs back as her voice follows.

"Do you reeeally have to go again sooooo soon?"

The hand slips over her polymer suit, resting on a metal piece of armor over her voluptuous hips.

What the fuck. Is Purple Heart. Doing in your office.

"Ooah, forgive me, I believe I surprised you."

"What." is all you manage out.

"I am CPU Purple Heart, or as you call me, Neptune."

You unconsciously hang up the phone.

A purple flash follows as usual Neptune appears again.

"Hey you still going to leave me here or what dude?"

Seeing Nepu soothes you a bit, letting you ask regain the ability to speak. Your heart is still racing.

Nepu grabs your hand. Your hand.

Her little fingers grasp about your palm and her palms cover over the sides of your trapped hand.

"I'll drag you back into this office, too much work and no play will kill someone!"

You recoil for two reasons, first, that it's called a job for a reason and second; you have never felt that sweet, warm touch that she just gave you. Neptune gets smug when she sees your expression.

"HAH!~ Office guy is a lame-o around cute girls isn't he!"

"HEY! Stop that Nep, I'll schedule that work to tomorrow!"

Nep spins out on her chair, pressing into the back of the seat.

"That's more like it!" she says with a giant grin.

The days fly by with Neptune around, she doesn't care at all that she spends nearly every day in a tiny, overcrowded office with some guy she doesn't even know the name of, it just feels nice to have a similar soul around. The weekend comes far too quickly for a work week. The clock ticks down to 5 o'clock as you sit with Neppy playing video games as usual.

"Nepu, would you want to visit each other over the weekend?"

Nep gives you a tremendously smug look, following with:

"Maybe, what are we gonna do on the couch? Pomf~"

Your face turns beet red, what the hell is on this girl's mind?

Nepu is rolling on the ground she's laughing so hard, when she finally gets off the ground she still can't stop laughing at you.

You move to speak but Nep stops you with a giant smile.

"Ok Ok, it's fine I'll drop by later today, just give me an address!"

Neptune leaves before you do, you pause for a moment. You feel… light headed, among many things. That girl's face is emblazoned in your mind, it's a sensation you just can't push away or let go of. She is cute, and having a Goddess in your office playing video games is an insane revelation that has taken all day to settle into. Your request to hang out was innocent but… now it doesn't feel so. Your heart beats like a machine gun just thinking of Nep.

The doorbell rings on your spartan apartment at about seven, you open the door to a beaming Neptune. She wastes no time setting up in the corner of your room. Round after round, you feel the nervousness of earlier fade with each laughing fit you share.

It's about eleven when Nep complains.

"Hey you've got snacks right?"

You didn't particularly plan ahead, you had only been home long enough to clean.

"There is a convenience store right down the road, wanna go?"

Nepu quickly grabs her tiny backpack and drags you out the door. The nights of Planeptune are much different than one in the countryside, the great city puts out enough light that it seems like an eternal twilight, especially given the pleasant purple tinge. Nepu thumbs through her phone, giggling occasionally at whatever she's looking at.

The friendly, familiar ring of entering the store door is a marker in your mind. Nepu tells you to get energy drinks, pudding, chips and some Mountain Morning Condensation. You go the extra mile and grab a package of frozen pizza, Nep disappeared the moment she gave you her orders. She reappears at your side and the cashier gives you a subtle thumbs up.

Nepu is quiet on the way home, she seems to squirm on occasion and gets lost in thought to the point where you have to keep her in the right direction or from running into things. When you get back she asks you to start the pizza and disappears into your room quickly.

What is wrong?

You enter the room to an adorable sight which hasn't left your mind since. You figure it's a good time to say your piece.

"Nep, can I call you Nep-ko or Nepucchi?"

Nep cracks a nervous smile and says:

"Well of course the Main Character would get a cute nickname! But I like either."

Her hands are seemingly tied behind her back. Is there something there?

You've never seen this disposition from Nep, but she nervously stands and walks up to you, her purple irises radiant in the dim, reflecting the dual PC screens of the room as she looks aside. From behind her back she pulls out a heart shaped box, with an impromptu note tied to the top of it.

"I- I think I- like you. I've never had to say this, well to a guy."

You peeked at the note, it bore a giant heart with two chibi characters kissing.

Your hands cover the other's around the box of chocolates, her pulse is racing. It would be a lie to say that yours was not running away as well. You share a moment with no speech, just two hearts hammering out a quiet love song. You take the box easily from her loosening nervous hands, setting it on the desk and take Nep's small fingers into your palms.

"I didn't think I muted you!" says Neptune with a nervous giggle.

You're not sure what to do. You just go for it.

Neptune's tiny body fits in your arms almost like a toy would, you speak nearly right into her ear.

"I like you too Nepucchi!"

You can feel the tension leave her muscles as she wraps her arms around you.

"I guess we should go on a date right?" you say.

"I don't know what we would do…"

"Really? I think I know exactly what we could do!"

Nep pauses and looks into your eyes.

"We could stay up late, and play video games and-" Neptune cuts you off.

"...Eat pudding and laugh at stupid memes and bad players?"

"Exactly!"

Neptune lets out a cheer and jumps into your arms, kissing you on the cheek.

"Well let's get going office guy!"

"Don't you want to know the name of the person you just confessed to?"

"Hasn't mattered up to this point!" responds Nep with a giant grin.

Nep wastes no time in getting games rolling again, a few matches in she pokes you during an interlude.

"Hey!"

"What?"

Nep grabs you by the loosely buttoned collar and plants a giant kiss on your lips. The sensation is… beautiful but overwhelming. Her thin, warm and wet kiss tastes vaguely of the soda you bought, but her cherry blush as she pulls away covers her face. Her small hands clasp the sides of your face, covering your similarly hot cheeks. She looks aside towards your screens, covertly pressing the ESC key twice on both of your keyboards, leaving the match as she plays with a hanging strand of purple hair from the explosion that makes up her hair-do.

As Nepu finishes curling the lock around her fingers she asks:

"Hey you wanna watch something together?"

"Like?"

"Oh, maybe just an anime or something…"

"Choose your favorite!"

You see that trademark excited and smug look creep into Nep's face as she clicks around her computer. Sharing a single chair would be awkward if Nep didn't conquer your lap. You have no idea what the show was about, the only memory you had was of Nepucchi's soft hoodie dress impressing on your chest. Nep is flat chested, but still retains a very feminine figure through her thoroughly curvy lower body. She catches your gaze and leans her head into yours. Your eyes meet Nepucchi's in a soft trance, the girl doesn't even think before making her move.

Your cheek is alight from Nepu's soft kiss, your hands rest on her lower back; your mind is screaming to pull her closer.

Just… A… Bit…

WHAM!

You're in a pile on the ground, the laughing helps break the tension. Nep sits crosslegged for a bit as she takes your hand, both of you sitting on the floor for a moment. Nep's vibrant smile is just like her usual personality, shining and exuberant.

"Nep… You really love me?"

The girl levers off the ground, tackling you. Her eyes lock with yours, before they slide away. Is that a bit of shyness you see? Nep's tiny arms clench around your neck, trapping you for the most subdued confession in the universe.

"I do, I love you…I love my lil sis too, but you're something special…"

You want so badly to tease this shy side you never see.

"Anything in particular…?"

"Wh-why?" Neptune's face is bright red.

You look expectantly at Nep who caves easily.

"I like, well… I like everything about you, your laugh, your smile, your smell… even if you don't smile as much as I wish you would, it makes every grin a gift..."

Her face gets a bit more serious.

"I'll make you confess too! I-I can be needy!"

You hold a pudding cup out.

"Yeah- memhmhm-" Nep gets a spoonful of pudding into her mouth mid phrase.

"I'm kinda tired…"

Nep looks discouraged.

"Hey what happened to staying up late?"

"Nep it's like three in the morning."

Your beloved Nepu's personality does a 360 in that heartbeat.

"No way! Histy is gonna be mad when I get back at noon!"

"Nep…"

You can see a ghost of concern return to Nep's eyes.

"You wanna share this pillow?"

The pillow offers just a few inches between your face and Nep's yet your hands spend that little space to become a tangled mess. Nep's hand feels so delicate, yet at home in your grasp. A rosy blush inhabits the space under Nep's eyes. Her soft breath puts you to sleep like a mother's heart would.

You wake up with Nep curled into your arms. You let the scene be, the sun peeks through the blinds at you two, entangled in the other. Her parka dress is hiked up on a side, you recover her thigh and try to slip away.

You nearly faceplant as a hand grabs your ankle.

"Don't leave me!"

Nep is on her feet instantaneously, pulling the last bits of gear into her pack. Breakfast is simple, but your Nepucchi is ever ready to steal your lap.

"Are you gonna walk me home?"

"Well it's the weekend, I guess I've got the time."

Nep's side is a wonderful place to be as you walk, her head bumps into your side as you traverse the city. Nepucchi's diminutive size fills your heart with a million feelings, mainly telling you to hold her like today was your last day alive. The ground entrance of the Basilicom is huge and beckoning, as a central corporate office is. Nepu tugs you in for a final smooch before whispering:

"I'll see you at work, I'm gonna miss you."

Nep was right, the weekend was agony without each other, but you made it to Monday all the same. You waited patiently for Nep's arrival. The minutes ticked by, turning to hours.

You sigh, a heavy weight on your chest before venturing off to finally fix that computer.

As you return, your knees don't fit under the desk, on top of which, your desk squeals.

"Surprise!"

Nep jumps out, trapping you in a hug.

"Whaddya want to do today?"

"Same as always!" Nep says with a starry gleam in her eyes.

You wrap a hand around the back of her head, another around her body and hold her there for a while.

She's your Neptune, the only one for you.


	9. The Gyamitory

As you approach the unassuming, ordinary building, you smile to yourself. This place is full of good memories for you, all related to the peculiar residents. Your hand lingers over the door bell for a moment. As soon as the chime calls out; hell breaks loose inside. You can hear all sorts of footsteps, socked and bare thumping around. You can hear people jumping down from bunk beds, pulling clothes on- or maybe that part is just part of your imagination.

The door swings open to (at the very least) twelve identical girls, the only difference being their colored armbands pinned to their sailor uniform. Nearly all the girls have purple and white thigh high socks except the ones who look like they just got out of bed. For sure though, they all have the same, open and staring eyes with beaming smiles at the sight of you. You can only manage a few steps in before a massive collective "Good Morning!" calls out in chorus and you're swarmed in soft hugs. You count the final eight girls, bringing the total to twenty of these gloriously happy girls. One of them; the head of the household, sits her knees on the couch, leaning on the back with her arms folded to support her head as she watches.

"You've come to visit again~"

"Of course Nepgya!" Just at the mention of their name, you get a plethora of responses.

"Kyaa~ NepGYAA! Whaaaa~ gyaa~" The group hug disperses and let you take a seat next to their "leader", the only Gyaa without an armband. Even since you introduced the armband solution, it's still difficult to tell which Gyaa you could be speaking to. The clone-like girls take seats wherever they're available, sitting on the floor in between the legs of others once the couches and recliners are full. The poor recliners are overloaded, with two Gyaas in both of them, yet they still look quite comfortable. You reach up and brush her cheek tenderly. All the girls react, patting a hand over where you touched on their leader. Somehow, their smiles only intensify.

What you did may have been a mistake, as their leader quickly tries to retain your touch over her compatriots. Your hand takes it's time massaging her scalp, Nepgya relaxes fully under your contact, head starting to follow your stroke. You're surrounded again, with all of the girls wanting head massages in the quietest, most respectful cacophony ever. You tell the girls to line up by order of the rainbow, which buys you a little time to plant a kiss on Nepgya's forehead.

Red Gya takes her spot, sitting on your knees. The line is orderly once the Gyaas find their place and many of them take note of how long the process takes; starting to play games and fiddle with mechanical components as they wait. The Nepgya at your side watches the scene like a happy mother. After two hours, the girls have gotten their fix of your affection and disperse to their various duties and hobbies. Two Gyaas tie hachimachis around the others head and sets to mopping the kitchen and doing dishes. Nepgya takes her rightful spot on your lap now, smiling as she leans against your chest. You hug her from behind, feeling her airy uniform collapse under your touch. She stands up abruptly, taking you by the hand. She presents the garage to you, which formerly would've held two cars.

An entire metalshop worth of tools is crammed against a wall, with various mech parts in similarly various states of assembly in the limited space. The concrete is cold to your bare feet, but Gya is so happy that you've shown interest in one of her favorite subjects that she clenches your hand and pulls you to the blueprint table. A clipboard shows that the mech is only 33% done, with various subsystems in watertight boxes outside. Orange Gya meanders into the room, quickly becoming tangled in a wiring harness until actual progress starts being made, with cables being tied into bundles and plugs added the ends of wires. You take a step out the back door with Nepgya, sitting against the wall in the sun together. In that little moment, you have to speculate which is brighter and demands your attention more: the blazing ball of early morning fire or the shining teeth, feminine lips and puffy cheeks that make up Gya's smile.

As soon as you feel close to Gya again, a metallic bell rings rapidly, calling you two inside to the kitchen. The hachimachi Gyaas have assembled a breakfast with help of two chef hat Gyaas, granting your stomach reprieve from it's ache. The food is impressive in smell and appearance, you can't help but wonder if the hats have stat buffs. The Gyaas wait for you to take a bit, all grinning as you fail to hide your satisifaction. It's gourmet quality stuff, each bite of potato seems to melt in your mouth, dispersing rosemary, salt, onion, pepper with an aftertaste of more defined yet muted spices into your soul. While the recipe seems simple, they've put a lot of effort into it, and have clearly mastered their trade: everything seems just perfect. You expect nothing less of their other dishes, pleased with poached eggs, sausages and Hollandaise sauce. The Gyaas soak up your smile, hugging you before letting you leave the room with Nepgya. The way Nepgya tugs you towards her room tells you:

This is going to be so much more than just a good day.


	10. On a Stormy Night

This is much lewder than I remember it. _¯\\_(_ _ツ_ _)_/¯_

You'd consider yourself to be a normal, natural height; but here, you're a giant. By here, you mean the Lowee Basilicom. The tallest lady, Mina is still nearly a head shorter than you. Your height would mean something if many of the living quarters weren't laid out for someone who was even smaller. You served the Lady White Heart to the best of your capacity, and Mina was indispensable in this task. The two of you did your best to keep the Lady's twin younger sisters inline and the nation intact but at times it became overwhelming.

Mina pushes her chair away from her desk to stand. Even though she wears a short white dress and has well shaped thighs, Mina doesn't particularly command your attention in anyway other than as a co worker.

"I'm leaving for the day, are you staying late again?"

"Yes." The moment you respond, Mina lifts a fat binder off her desk and drops it on yours.

You barely keep a sigh in your chest as Mina strides away, her red heels clicking on the worn yet sturdy hardwood floors.

Night falls, draping the nation in darkness. Winds have begun to whip, making the very traditional construction of the Basilicom creak. You check the clock: 18:23. You pick up your puffy winter coat, woolen accessories and briefcase. You can hear Lady Blanc's pages turn in between gusts of wind.

When she isn't White Heart, Lady Blanc is the purest gem of this world. She isn't nearly as angry and impatient; she reads and does her duties the best her young body can. White Heart is still wonderful to be around though; her boundless energy and confidence are a vast departure from the usual Blanc.

You can't help but smile as you walk through the room, hearing the fireplace crackle as Blanc stays by it, slowly reading as she lies on her belly.

A page turns, she looks up.

"Have a good night." She says in monotone, quickly focusing back on her book. Her pillow-like hat falls off as the lights cut out.

You can make out Blanc by the light of the fire and approach her, taking a flashlight off the mantle and turning it on.

"Get the twins and bring them here? Find sleeping bags and such too?"

"Yes. I'll call the electric company. The storm must've knocked out power."

You head out on your mission after setting your stuff down on a couch, shoes thumping on wood whenever you're not on an ornate, well kept rug. You rummage around in a cupboard, emerging with an old cooking pot. Your arms are full with a few cans of clam chowder and four sleeping bags. You make your way back to Blanc's fireplace, setting the supplies on the ground.

Blanc is hugging her legs with one arm, sitting against the wall and phone to her ear. Even in a crisis, Blanc keeps her cool. Her sedated face goes through the motions of dealing with a support call. She hangs up after a few moments.

"It will take a while, let's get the girls."

Now, for the twins. Blanc is at your side and vigilant, taking Rom into a hug as soon as they find the frightened girl under her bed.

"Where's Ram?" Blanc inquires.

"I-I dont know." She says, little tears in the corners of her eyes.

Blanc's mood slips up and she takes Rom into a hug, patting her sister's head before taking the girl's hand to walk.

"On-only having two flashlights is kinda scary… I don't like the dark…" You can only hurry to their sister, but Ram is taking her time. By "taking her time" you mean that she's trying to find ways to ambush and scare you and Blanc.

"Come on Ram, this isn't time for games."

"Awwwwwwww. Come on, you sound like big sis."

"Come along now." You state strictly.

Ram hops out from behind a corner, a glow in the dark skeleton mask scrunched up over her forehead.

You're starving, and it's dinner time. The fire keeps you company. Rom and Ram are playing games on their DS handhelds together while Blanc reads quietly. The thick, creamy chowder bubbles in the pot on the raging fire. You lazily stir the mixture, glancing at Blanc.

She was looking at you.

Blanc averts her eyes back to her book, not making a sound. Your heart skips a beat or three.

Her nose twitches and she sits up, approaching you.

"It smells good."

"It's just canned soup."

Blanc smiles weakly with just the corners of her mouth. "Does it really matter? I'm sure Rom and Ram are hungry too."

You ladle the soup into bowls and tear open a package of saltine crackers. The four of you sit together, eating in between childish jokes and teasing. Blanc watches your interactions with the twins happily and quietly. As Blanc stands and goes for seconds, Ram tackles you, shoving a blanket into your hands.

"Go Go GO!"

"Huh!?"

"Do it! Take care of big sis for us!" Blanc turns around.

"Wh-what!?" She stays, frozen in place by the fire. Ram grips Blanc's hand and drags the older sister to you.

"Blanc is a dummy that forgot her coat! She's cold but won't say anything! We're cold too!"

Rom helps Ram, pulling the blanket over you two before sneaking in next to her twin. Blanc is silent, a thick blush under her eyes. Her shoulders drop their tension and her head contacts your shoulder.

Ram giggles, shooting under the massive blanket. You take a peek, her and Rom and again playing games together. Blanc retrieves her book, reading.

"Anything you want to say Blanc?" She gasps quietly at your question.

"I. I. This is enough." She tries to focus on her book again, but struggles enough that she resigns and leans into you again.

Though you know she isn't, Blanc's body feels delicate. Blanc is so small, and when she sits in your lap, you can help but wrap her in your arms. Blanc's sandy brunette hair smells like old paper and aged flowers.

"We've barely spoken, yet we're so close."

Blanc stiffens, looking like she holds back a tsunami-like tirade.

"I… I like you." She finally says, gasping for air.

"I also like you." Blanc sighs in relief.

"I thought so… but…" Blanc can't complete her sentence.

"Just talk to me, I like your voice too~" You say. Blanc's blush is unmatched, consuming her whole face.

"T-That doesn't help at all!"

You can feel Blanc's petite hands on your forearms which are over her chest and belly. Her hands slip on their length, intertwining with your hands. Her motions are interspersed with the crackles of the still roaring fire.

"I. I think- I think I love you. I have no reason to, but… I think I do." Blanc confesses.

Ram and Rom emerge, both laughing.

Ram is the first to make a comment.

'JEEEZ, get more muuuushy! This is like one of those silly romance books you read!" Ram manages through bouts of laughter.

"SHUT UP!" Blanc roars, snuggling closer to you somehow. This does everything but repel Ram.

Rom sneaks up from behind.

"Big siiiis, what is thiiiis?" She presents a magazine titled "How to make him notice you".

Blanc rends the magazine from Rom's hands and throws it into the fire.

"STOP STOP STOP! You two convinced me to do this and now you're being MUCH less than helpful!"

"Yeah, because you didn't stop him from stopping my ambush so you could cling to him and go 'I'm scared~!"

Blanc's teeth grind together, she takes both of the girls by the nape of their matching coats and sits them on another couch. They can't stop giggling and Blanc pulls you behind the opposite couch with the blanket.

"Now, let's continue." Blanc takes her spot between your legs, craning her upper body and neck to meet your eyes.

"Would you like to go on a date sometime?" Blanc asks.

"Could we call this a date?"

Blanc thumbs her chin, pondering.

"Sure." She lets herself slide sideways, cradled by your legs and arms.

"I can't hold you like this- here." You lay down, taking Blanc with. It feels like Blanc's whole body fits against your chest. You find yourself fiddling with the trim of her pure white dress among glancing feels of her slender thighs, arms and shoulders. Blanc's skin is as soft as a child and with each touch, you can feel her heart race a little more. In the dim, Blanc's eyes glimmer as she gazes into your eyes from her place on your body.

"Even though… I don't care. I want... " She puckers her lips and reaches towards you, kissing your cheek. Blanc covers her lips with a hand, trying to hide her exuberant smile.

"Kiss me~" She whispers. You hop up, checking for the twins. They're both peacefully asleep in sleeping bags, holding hands. Just how long have you been with Blanc back here?

You let yourself off the couch back, nearly crushing Blanc with your arms supporting yourself, hands on the ground under her armpits. One kiss.

Blanc tastes too good for just one kiss. Her breathing is labored as she resigns, taking your chest as hers again.

"I don't want to be cold. I don't want to be alone. Stay with me. Stay with me always, from now on." She pleads, little tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I could never refuse~"


	11. Blanc's Artist

She sat against the window in a middle row. She got average scores in all things, carefully keeping her brightness hidden away. She outright refused to participate in PE. Her name to most people was Asumi; to you, she was Blanc.

Blanc's life was a bubble of words and thoughts. She poured over books, reading every moment she could. She would occasionally try her hand at socializing, but was frequently turned away. Blanc looked like a child at a mere 4 foot 10, flat chest and thin limbs; maybe even closer to a porcelain doll in her pure white skin and acorn brown hair.

Winter came, and her outfit became elaborate and beautiful. She wore a thick wool double breasted greatcoat with soft brown fur which nearly matched her hair at the cuffs and neck. You were dozing off in class one day, a rough drawing on your notes of a warrior bearing a buster sword and tremendous muscles. As soon as she walked by, her attention was on you.

"Y-You drew that!?" She said in a hushed yet excited voice.

"Uh… yeah?" Who else could've drawn it? You've earned items from the vending machine and convenience store for your drawings in the past. Blanc kneels, leaning in.

"I just happen to be a writer in dire need of an illustrator!" The usually stark, stoic Blanc can hardly contain her rising excitement.

"Well, I don't just-"

"I know you don't work for free, no one does. I'll let you read the final version and pay you ten thousand credits!"

Your eyes widen. Ten. Fucking. Thousand. Credits. That's a whole week of work at your part-time job where you can only cram in a few hours in between sleep, studies and school.

"Alright what do you want" You say, retrieving a pencil bag and a notepad.

Blanc's face turns red.

"W-well, a girl like me. Uh… Just show me what you can do. Draw her as a mage or priest like in an MMO."

"Like you-" Your eyes gravitate to her pleasantly wide hips and slender frame. You shove your nose into the notepad, starting to make her basic pose and body shape.

By the end of the class period, you present a sheet to Blanc. A priestess that wears a pure white dress, cuts from the belt down revealing her lithe legs, leaned on a holy staff. A shining chestplate helps obscure the priestess' small chest and widen her shoulders. Heeled boots give her a slight boost in height.

Blanc holds the paper, quivering in front of you, the hallway now emptying out for lunch.

"Its…"

"What?"

"Its…"

"Where's the skin!? I thought guys were supposed to be complete pervs!" Blanc's hands are at her sides as she taps a foot. Blanc is actually pretty mad.

"Try again! More- more…"

Blanc's hands fold together as she blushes heavily. Her shoulders drop from their tensed position.

"Sh-show-" Blanc slips into a nervous fit and can't continue speaking, just fidgeting with her hands.

"M-maybe her… her panties? Her- her butt?"

'I GET IT ALRIGHT!? Just gimme some time… it's not like I can draw something like that at school!"

That night you draw another picture for Blanc, your mind stuck on that ten thousand. What would you buy? Maybe it would be best to save for a drawing tablet…

The next day, you slip a sheet into Blanc's messenger bag. She acknowledges the delivery and covertly slides a hand down to the bag, pulling out a notebook on top of the drawing.

You can see Blanc's heart backflip from your seat on the opposite side of the class. She hugs the drawing shooting you a beaming smile before hiding the paper.


	12. Caring for Sick Blanc

Caring for Sick Blanc

A petite, sandy brunette girl sat on her haunches in the kitchen. Her name was Blanc, the lady you had married just a month ago. Her overall attitude was unchanged though, cold and frequently tired. She surfaces with a kettle, standing and waiting patiently by the sink as she fills the red vessel with water, setting it on the stove and twisting a knob. Blanc wanders away, starting to dig for something in the pantry.

You approach her, smiling when you see the glint on her right hand.

Blanc shrugs your attention off, emerging with a box of tea and tin of oats. She goes about the motions of making a quick breakfast quietly, occasionally making sounds with her utensils. Steel pings on the aged ceramic of her bowl. Your smile fades. Blanc looks much more drained than usual, and she coughs softly into a napkin.

"You're straining yourself." You state, shattering the early morning's quiet. Blanc's nose wrinkles at the remark.

"I'm a Goddess, I can't just call in sick."

"Which is why you're going to stress yourself to the point that you've got to take weeks off to heal right?"

Blanc grits her teeth.

"I can call out tomorrow, today there's a huge conference. I can't miss it; my hand in the deal is the difference between ceding precious, easily defendable territory to... " Blanc's voice becomes hoarse and she coughs again.

"Damn Neptune…" She grumbles. Blanc steps from her chair with a screech and slips out the door, putting an arm through her coat and fixing a fur hat on her head. You stand there for a moment, watching the wind toss her scarf around until she fades into the blizzard.

* * *

A harsh cough rouses you from sleep. It's 19:13 and everything is pitch black except the harsh red LCD of your bedside alarm clock. Footsteps thump along the hardwood floors of the palace and you hear the distinct rattle of a bottle of aspirin. The sink runs for a moments and you hear whimpers, forcing you from the warmth of the covers. Blanc nearly bowls you over anyways, pushing right through the door of the bedroom. Her cheeks and forehead are cherry red and toned with a sleek layer of light perspiration. Blanc's usually beautiful blue eyes are weighted with dark bags.

Blanc falls into the bed, scarcely even wrapping herself in a blanket or removing clothes before passing out. You take your leave, retrieving the items you need to care for the one you love.

The palace is lonely at night, with Blanc's younger sisters asleep and the hired help gone.

You find a bundle of clean rags and a bucket, slowly accumulating other bits under your arms like wool socks or clean sheets. It takes several trips, but eventually you re-enter the bedroom, mask over your face and a steaming bucket of water. Rags lazily float around the top of the bucket and you do your best to strip Blanc down and redress her in pajamas. You pad and wipe her moist, sticky skin down and once she's fully dressed, you set one carefully folded steamy rag on her forehead. Blanc doesn't even sigh, she must have a sore throat. All you can do now is pat her neck length, homely brown hair flat and stay positive. You make your way to the living room and after some deliberation plus uncomfortable positions; you find a decent place to sleep.

* * *

There's no rest for a good man. You wake to the sound of a coughing fit echoing down the wooden halls and drag yourself out of bed, having little rest to show for your efforts at sleep. The night still blankets the world, leaving you fumbling for a light switch. All it takes is some foul smelling medicine that Blanc has to put real effort into keeping down. You sit with Blanc, holding her hands in yours while waiting for the medicine to kick in. Her cool blue eyes underlies the aching throb of sickness. Her eyelids slip down and then Blanc is suddenly asleep. You take advantage of that time and despite your worries, get another precious few hours of sleep. Blanc is so strong… it's quite jarring to see her so helpless.

You're running, every instinct tells you to get away from where you are.

Yet really, you're just afflicted with another restless wink of sleep and similar dreams.

Once you realize that; the familiar poofy white hat and soft smile of the one you love most calms your mind. The fleeting vision fades and at some point you wake.

* * *

Blanc isn't in much better condition today, yet her fever seems to have faded; such an outlook may just be your optimism though. Blanc refuses any sort of food and rolls over in her bed without even making a groan. Your shoulders sink and you leave the room, taking care to wash your hands before going about the usual chores.

After sorting through however many emails from the Guild, your mind is off Blanc's condition for awhile. There's so many requests to fulfill and paperwork to be shuffled around that it's nearly two before you even get to cleaning the complex of rooms that you spend most of your time in. You and Blanc both have a room separate from the bedroom that allows space for your hobbies. You figure it best to just clean both and save Blanc the headache. You roll back a traditional folding paper & wood dividing wall, vacuuming the rugs and wiping down most surfaces with a duster and disinfectant. As pointless as it may seem, the maids only clean the rest of the massive expanse that is the Lowee Basilicom; granted since you moved in the old structure has seen more use, with the plethora of grounds and offices being reactivated.

What had started years ago as an effort to make the Guild more effective in Lowee had resulted in not only a direct cooperation between the Guild and Lady White Heart herself, but threw you headfirst into a relationship with the Good Lady. Blanc was wonderful to spend time with yet often found it difficult to tell you things, or to even do things for you. She didn't want to look weak, yet couldn't avoid it either. You still had to reach things on the top of shelves for her, and still were much warmer (you hated to watch her shiver, or her nose and hands to turn pink from the cold). Yet through everything, even getting married, Blanc was still distant. Her actions weren't an outright rejection of anything unless she was actually angry but it still felt like she was just out of your reach more often than not. If you weren't the one taking initiative, Blanc would stay wherever she was, calm and relaxed; fully engrossed in whatever she was doing.

Maybe you two had rushed into things, or maybe you just didn't understand.

Soft music, obscured yet familiar sounds out through the old halls.

You go on a quest to find the source of the jingle, wandering until you eventually find Rom, Blanc's younger sister at a grand piano. Rom is quite proud of herself and continues, even with you watching and listening intently. Rom stops playing as soon as her twin sister, Ram calls her name.

You hear staggered footsteps and turn to see a pale but alive Blanc. The frail looking girl pulls the blanket she wears as a shawl taut while approaching you.

"R-rom. R-ram." She says in a pained whisper. The twins have already ran away to play, Blanc is addressing you about something. She massages her throat and leans into your back.

"T-take care of them… for me." She coughs and turns away. Blanc starts to meander back to her room. Blanc has made is about to turn the corner when your mind arcs with energy. If she's going to be passive, this is up to you. What's the one thing you can do for her at this moment; this exact instant to remind Blanc that she's the center of your world?

You rush up behind Blanc, sweeping her off her feet. At a mere 144 cm and 36 kilos, even a weak man could easily carry her. Having years of Guild training, time in the field and even just general exertion while helping Blanc was enough to ensure you far exceeded any sort of physical requirement. Blanc turns red, even more than her fever made her, and she initially whacks you stoutly on the head in shock.

"Y-You jerk! You su-" Blanc breaks into a coughing fit, leaving you to continue your march to the bedroom, her slender legs and back impressing on your arms, her side against your whole upper body. She was still quite hot with fever, but didn't seem to complain from your careful grip.

Blanc waits quietly against your chest, a quivering frown on her lips. As you kneel to lay her on the bed, she sighs.

"I-" Blanc stops abruptly, her face wracked with sadness.

"Nevermind." She says, tucking herself into the covers. You wait a moment, hoping that she continues, but find yourself waiting in a quiet room. Out of nowhere, Blanc snaps at you.

"I said NEVERMIND! Get outta here!"

"Blanc, I know you're sick, but I wanted to hear what you have to say."

Blanc's burning face only worsens.

"I… I want some oatmeal… I'm sorry…" She says at a whisper, barely audible even to you. You crack a smile, extending an arm. She can't see the soft curve of your lips through the mask, but she can see the way your cheeks puff out when you smile. You pat Blanc's head and nod, leaving for some hot cereal.

Your footsteps are lonely in the Basilicom. You find yourself in the kitchen, waiting on water to boil with a heavy heart. Was that really what Blanc wanted to say?

You make your way back to the room, tray in hand. Blanc is sitting up reading, but slides under the covers with an exasperated groan.

"Can't focus on books right now…" Is this it? You set the still steaming oatmeal on Blanc's nightstand but hear a whisper as you pass by. The whisper was in the faintest breaths of possible language, it could've been your imagination and the wind, but you heard:

"You… you could… could read to me…"

Blanc doesn't follow up with anything else, apparently thinking her comment was clearly audible and voiced. You've got nothing better to do, so you take the book off her nightstand. There's a red and white ribbon a quarter of the way into the tome and you slip a thumb into the space in between the pages, taking a seat on the bed.

"Want me to just start with the first lines on this page?" Blanc nods, further shrinking under the covers. As you begin, you can see Blanc's eyes soften. Blanc's almost sad blue eyes quiver in the light, compelling you to stop.

"Is something wrong?"

From her safety in bed, Blanc responds.

"No, not at all. This is nice. I like this."

You keep reading. Blanc takes a couple spoonfuls of oatmeal carefully.

After a couple dozen pages, you look up. Blanc is asleep, body half out of her covers. Blanc's ivory skin is visible on her belly in between her pants and scrunched up shirt.. You pull the covers to her neck and go through the process of cleaning up, washing her bowl and putting it away among other things. You're well and exhausted by the time you get to the shower and you wash every nook of your hands and body with the hottest water you can stand and plenty of soap. Everything about the shower brings the fatigue that you've been staving off crashing down unto your mind, and you find yourself barely making it to your improvised bed in the living room.

* * *

You wake up to Blanc's hand shaking your shoulder.

"I'm feeling better." She says through a scratchy voice, soon coughing into her sleeve.

Even though she walks fine on her own, you can't help but feel like you should keep her under your arm. Anything you can do to help relieve the weight on Blanc's thin shoulders is on your mind.

Blanc keeps to herself, nabbing a few items before retreating to her room. Her distance is…

Blanc's distance just is; like bark to a tree. It's safe out there. In Blanc's mind, she's probably in a log cabin, hiding from the dead cold of winter, snow drifting among the spruce trees, streams and mountains of her nation. Blanc rules because she must, not because it's what she likes to do.

"Why then, must I torment myself?" You think despite already having the answer. If anyone is going to be Blanc's pillow while she reads quietly; it should be you. If she needs someone to go with her on a walk while the ponders the immense scope of the universe, of the ever changing, morphing thing that everyone calls life; it should be you. No matter how many awful (which you will never say to her face) novels that she writes and makes you proofread, you will be there for Blanc.

Your mind is crowded with thoughts of Blanc all day, despite her obviously improving condition. You take occasionally peeks into her room in between bouts of paperwork. Your queen lies in the middle of your bed, sleeping peacefully under heavy blankets.

Out of the blue, you get an idea. There's no way to ignore it, and you find your legs taking you places before you can even think about any of it. You have to make soup for Blanc, with rich, steaming broth, fresh vegetables, hearty chunks of meat and whatever else you can scavenge up. You need to make something to repair her body so her soul can fly again.

With a burning need to press forwards in your heart, it feels like you just started cooking when you start to walk to Blanc. What will you say? You heft the prepared tray, which suddenly feels heavy with nothing but a bowl of soup, crackers and a spoon.

Little has changed in the room besides a growing pile of tissues. Blanc turns her blank eyes to you and sighs.

"I should be well enough to resume my duties after today."

"Blanc."

"What."

"I want- I'd like-" What the hell are you even trying to say?

Blanc seems just as nervous as you. How the hell did you two get married? Blanc pulls you closer, nearly spilling her soup.

Despite her stuffy nose, Blanc's voice is one you remember from your most intimate moments.

"You're so mysterious, so strange and yet… you care a lot. It's hard to get close to you… kinda like there's something between us. An invisible wall that keeps us apart."

Which one of you is the distant one? The one engrossed with work and video games or the one with work and books?

"I'd say the same thing about you…"

Blanc sheds a tear.

"I- I love you. It's the same as when we spent that night without power. Nothing has changed to me. I love you more than-"

Blanc can't continue as her voice breaks repeatedly.

"More than I would know, right?" You say. Blanc nods, trying in vain to wipe her eyes. You feel a few tears dye your cheeks.

"Blanc. I do too." She move the tray as quick as she can, crushing your head in her arms against her flat chest.

"Dammit you idiot! I can't put into words how ANGRY I AM! But… but..."

Her hand ruffles the hair on the back of your head.

"I can't raise a hand against you." She blows her nose and kisses your forehead. You spend some time in Blanc's grasp, listening to her heart until she loosens her grip.

"Read to me again. Please."

Your eyes peel open. You fell asleep while reading to Blanc. Out of nowhere, you cough.

Dammit.


	13. Taking Care of Nepgya

Helping Nepgya

It's another day at work, you're lazing away at your desk, waiting for something to happen. This is an exceptionally slow season.

The sun is shining through the window on your face and you often find yourself dozing off. It takes awhile for you to reach your phone when it rings.

"H-HELP! DEAR!" cries a desperate voice.

"Wh-WHAT!?" Your voice's volume shoots up like your pulse.

"COME HOME! I-" The phone on the hits the ground as you hear a loud slump, like a body collapsing.

You don't even pause to think, you grab your coat and start running.

You burst through the door, reaching for a kitchen knife incase of an intruder- only to find your beloved Nepgya slumped against the oven, her eyes dead. Her cute apron is pulled down, it seems like she was desperately trying to get undressed by the way her usual white and purple coat is partially unbuttoned. Why was Nepgya trying to undress in the kitchen though?

Her phone sits on the floor next to her hand.

You wave a hand in front of her eyes, reaching for your phone. You need an ambulance.

Right before you hit "Call", Nepgya's eyes light up.

Three loud beeps come from her closed mouth, like a computer's. What just happened?

"Low Power Mode Code E5 engaged, consult documentation for assessment and repair. Engage the utility ports on this unit's upper back."

You start to drag Nepgya, but she's suddenly so much heavier than usual, probably in excess of 120kg. Nepgya has been a robot all along?! This scene would look absurd to anyone looking on, but you've got a half naked girl facedown in your garage near your workbench. After some prodding, a plate slides away on her back. Nepgya's skin is so realistic, but it's true; she's a robot. A series of USB ports are spaced from a large machine style electrical plug by an ethernet port. The only thing in your house with that style of plug is your washing machine…

You manage to slide the weighty device a few feet, enough to get the plug into her back. Nepgya's eyes are relit a kind purple before turning into her typical "funny face".

"You saved me!" She says adoringly, holding your hand. You can carry her again, but she's restricted to the short cable.

"What happened? You're a robot!?"

Nepgya smiles. "I know told you that I was a robot! Now, I need your help to fix my power source! I was trying to do it myself, but with low power mode I couldn't use my fine motor skills or fully diagnose the problem."

"You said 'code E5' earlier." There's a dead silence as Nepgya tries to load an answer.

Nepgya shivers.

"Can't you just turn your sensors off?"

"No… Bring a towel for me to lay on please? I'll have your instructions prepared by then."

You follow her instructions, and Gya lies face down on the towel, the sizable gap in her back folds down once more, showing a circular cap and more diagnostic ports.

"N-now… You need to pull my power core… because of the power outage, I might need my lines drained of fluid and refilled, so…"

"First things first. Let's fix your power. What do I need?"

"Hydrogen, lots of it. I think like three large welding style containers. Besides that, I should be able to recharge the cell on my own."

"Is it a fusion cell?"

Nepgya hesitantly answers. "Y-yes."

"Are you going to eject probably radioactive iron in my garage?"

"I-I'm…"

You raise an eyebrow. Nepgya's face becomes distraught and she covers her nearly naked body with her arms.

"It's so- ! I don't wanna talk about it, but you'll be safe!."

You have time to ponder what just happened while driving to the local welding shop. Is this even real?

Nepgya has removed all of her torso panels by the time you return. She's…

Beautiful like this. You can see PCBs through her skeletonized metallic torso, various subsystems and crowded yet well managed bundles of wire. It's engineering genius alone that powers the AI that was convincing enough for you to fall in love with. You set the three cylinders next to her and wait for the response.

All she does is smile. There's pain in her smile.

You can see a tank inside her upper body that hooks to her power cell. She flicks a switch and says:

"Open up the valve."

She waits patiently and only says one thing as the gas flows.

"If I ran out of power, I would forget everything, even you. I don't know what hurts more, this process or that thought."

"Why would-"

Gya clutches at her robotic chest, her eyes starting to shake. It's clear that her various systems are shutting down. The only thing she can do, is scream.

The process seems short, but you can't imagine what it felt like to reach the brink of death like that. Gya takes a moment, eyes flooded with anguish as she regains her bearings. As soon as her eyes settle on you, she's lunging for a hug. The metal is cold, excepting the quiet hum of her partially recharged fusion cell.

"It doesn't hurt after that first bit… I'm just a useless prototype after all, my systems are supposed to be human-like so I can understand them better and know when things are damaged."

"So, power surges are like a heart attack?" Gya nods.

You swap the hose over to the next cell.

"Useless prototype? What does that mean?"

"I'm just spare parts really... "

"You don't look like it at all! You're like a real person!"

Gya sheepishly smiles. "Thanks, but it's true. I'll have to replace all my fine operation fuses because of that. I'm not designed to recharge, I need constant maintenance- my fusion core is supposed to be disposable."

"So you're discontinued?"

"More accurately, my power system was. The gel that contains the radioactive byproducts is too expensive for mass use and my reactor is too powerful for my size. I have to use a lot of power to sustain my antigravity subunit so I can blend in, otherwise I'd break floors and be unable to perform simple tasks without breaking components."

"How much are you supposed to weigh?!"

"My finished weight is 395.34 kg with body panels I-"

"That's enough… it's still hard enough just to think that I've been dating a robot…"

"If I didn't have a backup fission cell, you wouldn't have been able to move me… "

"What's even stranger is that I think you look good like this…" You confess.

Nepgya's synthetic muscle ripples as she repositions to a cross legged sit. The direct transition between robot and soft, cute girl at her hips is jarring. Metal slats that make up her midsection yield and part revealing all of their surface as she stretches.

"My hydraulics are still in good condition~" She notices your attention.

"Uhm… you… you like my… uh? Why?!"

You can only shrug in response. Nepgya is cute and you attach her to the final tank before sitting in her lap. She hugs you despite her condition and smiles, happy to know that you're still hers.


End file.
